Self-closing cabinet hinge



p P. K. BORMAN ETAL 2,611,922

SELF-CLOSING CABINET HINGE Filed Oct. 28, 1947 heir- At torhey.

Patented Sept. 30, 1952 yhili p K; Bel-man,- Chicago, and

Swisher, Elmhurst, Ill., as'signors to Thomas H. Hotpoint Inc., Chicago, 1 11., a corporation of New York AppIicationOctohcr 28, 1947,'S erial No; 782,574. I

Our invention relates "to cabinet constructions It has particular reference to concealedor semi-concealed hinges forthe doorsof such cabinets, and to spring mechanismsused with thehinges for holding the cabinet doors both closed and open. I

'Modern kitchen cabinets are often made of sheet metal. Our invention is especially adapted for application to sheet metal cabinet constructions.

Oneobject is to provide a device which. will act asa-hinge for the door of the cabinet and which will also tend to hold the 'door closed or open, as desired.

Another object is tosecure quiet and easy operation of such devices.

Still other objects are to improve appearance, convenience of use, and to simplify manufacture, installation, and maintenance of hinges and door-closing devices for cabinets.

These and other objects are obtained by a unitary hinge and spring assembly having certain novel. constructions and relationships of parts. For a. more complete understanding of this invention, reference should be had to the followingdescription and: the claims. appended thereto taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated-an exemplary form of hinge embodying the present invention. In the-drawings,.Fig. 1 is a general-perspective view ofa cabinet assembly embodying. our

invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged. plan view and partial" section of the hinge assembly; Fig. 3 is an enlargedsimilar View showing the. parts inanother position; Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view online 4-4 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the" parts. of a hinge assembly and associated partsg-with portions of the cabinet; broken away for clarity.

The'cabinet assembly includes the usual open front sheet metalflcabinet' member l ll having' side wallsil t, and inturnedfflang-es: i2 at the front edges of 'theside' walls. For: clearance. of; the hinge. and:' associated p'art's"duringf-action; We provide corner cutouts I -B -in the flangesof the cabinet. Completing the cabinet assembly, there is the usual hollow? sheetsmetai. door meme ber I4 having an outside 7 l1, and edge faces lfl'which are substantially 007-- planar with the side walls of theca'binet when the door isclosed. 'For clearance-of the hinge parts-,- the corner of'the door'isnotched or cut away asat it; A usual handle"=2l is provided for-'openingandclosing-thedoor.

Securedto' one of the cabinet 'assembly' meme' facslli; an inside: f-ace v bers, preferably the door, isa fiat hinge leaf 22 stamped of heavy sheet metal. In order to secure this leaf to the door, we have shown anarm 23 with threaded holes} 24- which receive screws 26,-the screws passing through holes in an edge face or" the door.. This leaf 22 'will be called the door hinge leaf. The pintle 21 of the hinge is shown as a shouldered rivet flush with the top surface of the door hinge leaf; and flush-with the bottom surface of the other flat hinge lea-f, called-the cabinet hinge leaf 2-8; A bearing-washer 29 surrounds the pintle between the hinge leaves'togive proper spacing of the leaves for easy operation.

- As shown best in Figs. 2 and eythe'pintle" axis I lies in the plane of -the outside of the door.

parallel to .andas near aspossible to the edge of the door. This 'isdone toallow the fullest opening movement of the do'orwith respect to the cabinet, and to avoid interference between the door and adjacent cabinets. The corner notches-[ 9 permit'the hinge leaves to be housed within the outline of the doonth'us reducing projections to the minimum and providing a semi-concealed hinge. The hinge leaf 28 is secured to the other memberof the cabinet assemblytnamely the cabinet proper, by means ofan extension 3|. on the leaf 28, which is shown as located in-a plane at right 'angles to the rotational plane ofthe hinge leaves. This extension is secured at one of itsends to the inner end' of the cabinet hinge'l'eaf and may have'a stiffening and positioning rib 3-2 along its. length. The extension is fastened to-the cabinet member ofthe. total assembly in any suitable fashion, for instance by scre'ws 32: which are threaded into holes 34 in the leaf extension. after passing through holes'35in a flange of the cabinet edge. If the edges of these holes are. countersunkasshown,.it aids in making the heads of the screws flush with: the front of the cabinet flange and'at the same time provides an inward projection '35 which-can engage with the inside of rib 32 to help positiol ztheparts. and tosecure them when the screws are tightened. g

The end of thecorner cutout I3 nearest the side. edge. of the cabinet providesspace for the cabinet hinge leaf to pass through the, cabinet flange into proper working 'relationshipwith the pintle and With't-he hinge leaf on" the'dofo'r;

The arrangement described above allow full openingof the door as indicated in 'dotted" lines in 3. "I-hiseffect has been achieved informer constructions" of the'same general character, but never before to our knowledge has such a construction been designed to provide a self-closing spring for the hinge. Furthermore, in designing spring mechanisms for this type of hinge, it is one of the objects of the invention to use the spring to assist in opening the door, at least during part of the door opening movement.

An example of satisfactory parts and mechanisms for accomplishing these desirable effects includes the spring, shown in the form of a single fiat leaf 37, preferably anchored at one end to a stepped portion 38 at the end of the extension 3! of the cabinet hinge leaf. We have shown rivets 39 and a flat plate M to secure the spring firmly. When not under stress, and as seen most clearly in Fig. 3, this spring extends generally parallel to and alongside the extension 3! of the cabinet hinge leaf 28. In one edge of the extension and opposite the fiat spring is a cutaway portion or notch 42 for a purpose which will be later described.

The free end of the spring is formed with an angular bend 43 and the face of the spring at this bend and on either side of this bend is the portion used in controlling movement of the door.

Cooperating with the spring is an angularly extending arm 44 on the door, shown here as a part of the door hinge leaf. In the form illustrated, this arm extends at right angles to the plane of the door when properly assembled. For smooth action and minimum wear between this arm and the spring, we provide a hearing or roller 46 on the end of the arm, rotatably secured as by a shouldered pivot pin or rivet 47. When the door is pushed from fully open toward closed position, this bearing first engages the flat face of the leaf spring as shown in Fig. 3. The spring resists the movement of the arm and of the door to which it is attached. Normally, therefore, the door is held ajar at an angle of about 45 by cooperation of the flat face of the spring, and of the roller or bearing on the end of the arm.

However, when it is desired to close the door fully, the door is pushed shut against the resistance of the spring, and the bearing rolls along the face of the spring until it reaches the bent portion. As the roller rides over the bend, the direction of action between the spring and the hinge axis changes. the door is now urged closed. Fig. 2 shows the fully closed position of the parts, in which the slanted end of the spring beyond the bend is pushing the arm and the door in clockwise direction, or toward closed position.

When it is desired to open the door, the handle is pulled, and an action reverse to closing takes place, with the spring urging the door open after the roller has passed the peak of the angular bend. Of course, full opening of the door can be obtained without spring action beyond the 45 position simply by swinging the door to any desired position, such as the 180 opening shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3.

Clearance for the path of movement of arm 44 is provided by the corner cutout [3 in the flange of the cabinet edge and by the cut away portion or notch 42 in the edge of the extension 3: of the cabinet hinge leaf.

The top hinge of the door, or the bottom hinge, or both hinges may embody the invention herein described. This eliminates the need for any special door catches and the attendant difliculties of aligning, mounting, or adjusting such catches.

Instead of being urged open, I.

It also avoid the noise produced by the snapaction of certain types of catches.

For conservation of space, the spring and 00- operating bearing arm are both located near the pintle. Actually, the hinge assembly is made up of two elements pivotally joined to each other by the pintle, one element consisting of a hinge leaf and its angularly extending arm which carries the roller bearing, the other element consisting of the other hinge leaf and its extension which carries the spring. Because the spring and its cooperating arm are fabricated as parts of the hinge assembly, it is necessary only to attach the complete hinge to the cabinet members in order to provide for hinging, door closing, and door opening.

While we have shown and described a particular embodiment of our invention, it will occur to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from our invention, and we, therefore, aim in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of our invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A hinge comprising a substantially flat body member, a forwardly projecting first flat hinge leaf carried on one end of said body member, the plane of said first hinge leaf being disposed substantially normal to the plane of said body member, a second fiat hinge leaf arranged upon said first hinge leaf, a pintle hingedly joining said hinge leaves together in flatwise relation, a leaf spring arranged behind and substantially parallel to said body member, one end of said leaf spring being fixed to the other end of said body member and the other end of said leaf spring extending behind said first hinge leaf, a projecting arm carried by said second hinge leaf, and a roller carried on the end of said arm and movable into cooperative relation with said other end of said leaf spring, said leaf spring having an angular bend therein adjacent to said other end thereof providing first and second adjacent roller engaging surfaces thereon, said roller successively engaging said first and second surfaces as said second hinge leaf is moved in a given direction about said pintle with respect to said first hinge leaf, said surfaces being disposed on opposite sides of a line extending between said pintle and said bend and slopingrearwardly away from said line so that said leaf spring opposes said movement of said second hinge leaf when said roller is in engagement with said first surface and aids said movement of said second hinge leaf when said roller is in engagement with said second surface.

2. A hinge comprising a substantially flat body member, a forwardly projecting first fiat hinge leaf formed integrally with one end of said body member, the plane of said first hinge leaf being disposed substantially normal to the plane of said body member, a second fiat hinge leaf arranged upon said first hinge leaf, a plntle hingedly joining said hinge leaves together in fiatwise relation, a leaf spring arranged behind and substantially parallel to said body member, one end of said leaf spring being fixed to the other end of said body member and the other end of said leaf spring being free and extending behind said first hinge leaf, said body member having a notch formed in the edge thereof adjacent to said first hinge leaf, a projecting arm formed integrally with said second hinge leaf, the angle between said arm and said second hinge leaf being substantially 90, and a roller carried on the end of said arm and movable through said notch into cooperative relation with said free end of said leaf spring, said leaf spring having an angular bend therein adjacent to said free end thereof providing first and second adjacent roller engaging surfaces thereon, said roller successively engaging said first and second surfaces as said second hinge leaf is moved in a given direction about said pintle with respect to saidfirst hinge leaf, said surfaces being disposed on opposite sides of a line extending between said pintle and said bend and sloping rearwardly away from said line so that said leaf spring opposes said movement of said second hinge leaf when said roller is in engagement with said first surface and aids said movement of said second hinge leaf when said roller is in engagement with said second surface, the angle of movement of said second hinge leaf about said pintle with respect to said first hinge leaf being greater than 180.

3. A hinge comprising a substantially fiat body member, a first fiat hinge leaf carried on one end of said body member and projecting forwardly with respect thereto, the plane of said first hinge leaf being disposed substantially normal to the plane of said body member, a second fiat hinge leaf arranged upon said first hinge leaf, a pintle hingedly joining said hinge leaves together in fiatwise relation, a leaf spring arranged behind and substantially parallel to said body member, one end of said leaf spring being fixed to the other end of said body member and the other end of said leaf spring being free and extending behind said first hinge leaf, said body member having a notch formed in the edge thereof adjacent to said first hinge leaf, a projecting arm carried by said second hinge leaf, and a roller carried on the end of said arm and movable through said notch into cooperative relation with said free end of said leaf spring, said leaf spring having an angular bend therein adjacent to said free end thereof providing first and second adjacent roller engaging surfaces thereon, said roller successively engaging said first and second surfaces as said sec-ond hinge leaf is moved in a given direction about said pintle into adjacent first and second positions with respect to said first hinge leaf, said surfaces being disposed on opposite sides of a line extending between said pintle and said bend and sloping rearwardly away from said line so that said leaf spring opposes said movement of said second hinge leaf when said roller is in engagement with said first surface and aids said movement of said second hinge leaf when said roller is in engagement with said second surface.

4. In a cabinet construction including an upstanding substantially rectangular shell provided with a boundary wall formed of sheet metal and having an inturned front flange defining a front 6 opening, and an upstanding substantially rectangular front door associated with the front of said shell and provided with a boundary edge face disposed substantially flush with said boundary wall when said door occupies its closed position, said door having a notch formed in said boundary edge face adjacent to one upper corner thereof, said front flange having a hole formed therein adjacent to said notch when said door occupies its closed position; the combination comprising an upstanding substantially fiat body member adapted to be arranged behind and secured to said boundary flange adjacent to said hole, a substantially horizontal forwardly projecting first fiat hinge leaf carried on one end of said body member and extending through said hole and into said notch, a substantially horizontal second flat hinge leaf arranged above said first hinge leaf and adapted to be secured to said boundary edge face in said notch, a pintle hingedly joining said hinge leaves together in fiatwise relation, an upstanding leaf spring arranged behind and substantially parallel to said body member, one end of said leaf spring being fixed to the other end of said body member and the other end of said leaf spring extending behind said hole, a projecting arm carried by said second hinge leaf, and a roller carried on the end of said arm and movable therewith through said hole into cooperative relation with said other end of said leaf spring, said leaf spring having an angular bend therein adjacent to said other end thereof providing first and second adjacent roller engaging surfaces thereon, said roller successively engaging said first and second surfaces as said door is moved toward its closed position, said surfaces being disposed on opposite sides of a line extending between said pintle and said bend and sloping rearwardly away from said line so that said leaf spring opposes said movement of said door when said roller is in engagement with said first surface and aids said movement of said door when said roller is in engagement with said second surface so that said door is restrained in its fully closed position when it is moved thereto.

PHILIP K. BORMAN. THOMAS H. SWISI-IER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

